


Candlenights on the moon

by epersonae



Series: Aftermath [23]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Eggnog, Gen, Gift Giving, The traditional Die Hard Christmas argument, holiday parties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 08:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13267161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epersonae/pseuds/epersonae
Summary: It's the second Candlenights after the Day of Story and Song, and Lucretia is throwing a little party for old friends and family. There are some gifts, some uncomfortable conversations, and a familiar argument.





	Candlenights on the moon

**Author's Note:**

> This was written over the course of a couple of months and has been barely edited, but I wanted to get it out while it was still the season for it!

Lucretia lay in bed in her apartment on the moon, awake, staring at the ceiling, willing herself to get up. From the high round windows in her apartment, she could see a light snow starting to fall. It could be considered festive, she supposed. Without looking, she tried to guess how many hours she had left before the evening’s gathering, how many of them she could spend in bed. A brief thought crossed her might that perhaps she could get out of the whole thing, pretend to be ill.

The stone of farspeech on her dresser buzzed softly.

“I guess that’s that,” she said to the empty room as she picked it up.

“Hey boss,” said Killian. “Any last-minute errands you need us to run?”

Lucretia sat up and cleared her throat.

“Oh shit did I wake you up?” asked Killian. “Ma’am, I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, no, not at all.” She cleared her throat again. “Just, um, still getting started.”

“You know we’re all pretty stoked about this shindig, boss, yeah?”

She hummed noncommittally. 

“It’s gonna be cool. C’mon, get up and we’ll do a Costco run just for the hell of it. You can give Garfield that patented Director stare and I’ll threaten him with a crossbow and it’ll be fun. Get you warmed up for the folks.”

Lucretia sighed.

“Great, I’ll be there in 15.”

//

Merle let Mookie and Mavis take off for the buffet table and the chair by the window, respectively, while he greeted their hostess. 

“Hey, sis, thanks for turning this little shindig into a tradition. Kids really like telling all their friends that they're going to the moon for Candlenights. Plus I like how you spiffed up the old digs.”

She gave him a faint smile. 

“You're very welcome, Merle. I hope you and your family have a lovely time.”

He patted her on the hip in an attempt to be reassuring. The shadow of a frown crossed her face. 

“The captain isn't coming, is he?”

He'd hoped to avoid this conversation.

“Well, yeah, no he's not. Not coming to this one. Says it's, ah, not his cuppa tea.” There'd been more to it than that, of course, but no need to go into all that. Merle set down his bag, though, and rummaged through it, muttering. “Oh, hold on, here we go. He said this was for you.”

A rectangular package wrapped in brown paper. She opened it carefully: a wooden box, on its top carved in relief the scene of a kraken escaping the harpoon. Inside, a small glass bottle of ink and a metal pen. She sucked in a breath through her teeth. 

“It's gorgeous. Did you know?”

He shook his head. Davenport had handed him the package just before setting out to sea again. All he'd said was “for her, when you go to the party.”

“Davvie keeps things pretty close to the vest,” he said. “I know he still cares about you, kiddo, it's just….”

She looked away from him, out at the milling crowd, and blinked back the start of tears. 

“Tell him thank you, from me.”

“You're gonna tell him yourself, one of these days,” replied Merle as he patted her hip again and headed in. 

//

Taako stumbled into the kitchen. He was already pretty tipsy, plenty of wine even before the party to “settle his nerves”, but he could stand for a really strong eggnog. But of course the eggnog out on the buffet was the nonalcoholic stuff, on account of Angus and Mavis and Mookie. They used to keep a big bottle of bourbon in the kitchen, well, and a bottle of vodka and a bottle of gin and a few backup bottles of cider. 

He thought everyone was out in the living room, being goddamn cheerful and merry and full of the blasted holiday spirit. But. Sitting on one of the stools, her head in her hands, an enormous glass of something dark purple. By herself. Looking, damn her, as raw and moody as he was feeling.

He went for the cupboard without looking at her, as best he could. Yup, bourbon still on the same shelf. He poured a long shot into the glass of eggnog, took a sip. Just strong enough to be a hit but not totally overwhelming the spices of the eggnog.

“I tried not to move anything,” she said without looking at him. “Figured if you ever wanted to stay….”

“Why would you think we’d ever want to stay here ever again?” he asked the eggnog.

“Merle brings the kids up here sometimes,” she said to her wine glass. “I had to get a pullout sofa for them.”

He harrumphed.

“Magnus—”

“ _ Nope. _ Don’t tell me, he doesn’t stay  _ here _ , does he, when he comes up for a  _ little visit _ ?”

Her nostrils flared slightly and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Actually, he does. And the Hammer and Tails is doing important work with the Bureau.”

“Oh. Well. Isn’t that interesting.”

To his surprise, she actually perked up and started talking about how they’ve trained up rats to detect magical traps or some bullshit, how service dogs are working with people suffering from post-Hunger emotional trauma? She still wasn't looking at him or anything, apparently she knew well enough not to do that. And then she sighed.

“Anyway. He’s up here for meetings pretty often and I think he stays here sometimes?” She paused, and then she actually looked at him. “And yes, sometimes he stays over in my apartment. If that wasn’t obvious.”

The door swung open, and both of their heads swiveled towards it.

“Oh good, you are in here.” Lup looked between them. “Don’t mind me.” And then she ducked out again just as quick.

Lucretia drained the rest of her glass of wine in a single gulp.

“Godsdamnit Lup,” she said to the swinging door.

“She’s been bugging you too?”

In an almost-pitch-perfect imitation of Lup’s tone, Lucretia said, “Hey  _ babe _ , he  _ means _ well, you just gotta give him  _ time _ , maybe talk  _ once _ in a while.”

“There’s nothing you can do about it  _ now _ , bro, maybe just chill a  _ little _ ?”

“How’s that eggnog?”

“Good enough for you to get your own.”

“Lucky for me, I stocked this shindig, so I don’t even have to go back out there.” She opened the cooler and poured eggnog into the empty wine glass. “Hand over the bourbon.” She added a generous pour of liquor to the eggnog, then took a swig. “Oh that is good. You always have such smart ideas.”

He winced, and considered saying something rude, and instead took another drink. It was warm. Mellow.

“I think even Kravitz thinks I should talk to you,” he said, avoiding the row of stools in front of the counter in favor of a seat on the floor, his back against the cabinet. “Course, bone daddy is too polite to say so.”

“That’s quite a gentleman you’ve acquired,” she said. “I’m impressed.”

“Didn’t think I had it in me?”

“Mmmm, not at all. Handsome death seems like your type, somehow. He’s just...impressive.” Her tone was too fond, uncomfortably friendly. 

“He’s a fucking dork.” Kravitz is infinitely too good for him, but he won't tell her that. 

She gave a dry laugh and took another drink of eggnog.

“You and Lup are a lot alike on that count.”

“I resent that remark,” he replied. “Krav’s nothing like Barry. Or like, well, you for that matter.”

“Mm-hmm. If you say so.”

“He’s...nice. You know, for an undead avatar of a terrifying goddess.”

“We all have our quirks,” she said. “Sounds like he’s good with Magnus, though.”

He opened his mouth, started to say something, and closed his mouth again.

“It’s fine,” she said. “We certainly do not need to talk about that.”

“Is Maggie fussing you about” — he waved his drink aimlessly — “all this?”

She sighed.

“No, he just gets….”

“Oh sweet Istus, that face.”

She chuckled.

“Pretty much. Like someone distilled all the sad puppies in all the multiverse into a single human expression.”

He snorted.

“That’s our boy.”

This time she winced.

“So...do you ever...um...miss….”

She still wasn’t looking at him. How dare she. If he were stone cold sober, he'd probably yell at her. 

He raised an eyebrow, even though she still wasn’t looking at him.

“You’re not actually asking me that, are you?”

“Sorry, never mind.”

A dozen tiny moments flashed through his mind, of the three of them, together, finding happiness as best they could. All those memories are edged with static; he can't be sure of any of them. 

“I mean, obviously, when I  _ remember that all of that even existed _ . I miss it a lot.”

“Oh.”

“Now drink your eggnog like a good girl and let’s never speak of it again.”

She drained the whole glass in a single swig and silently went to refill with both eggnog and bourbon. She held out a hand for Taako’s empty glass, then filled his as well. He took a careful sip and then nodded. Then she held out her hand again.

“Shall we go back to the party before anyone else notices?”

“We should at least make sure they didn’t lock us in to talk it out.”

He took her hand and she helped pull him standing.

“You first,” she said.

“Oh, certainly not.”

For a long moment, they stared each other down. Finally, Taako snort-laughed.

“Let’s mess them all up and go out together?” he asked.

She shrugged.

“Why not.”

//

Magnus spotted them coming out of the kitchen, looking like a pair of nervous cats. Uncomfortable smiles. Anxious sidelong glances. But they weren't actively fighting, and that was great, as far as he was concerned. 

He stood up, interrupting whatever long-winded story Merle was telling about his extreme teens, and went over to them, just shy of breaking into a run to try to catch them before they parted. 

“How's my two favorite Starblaster crew members on this fine holiday?” he said, working every ounce of rustic hospitality he could muster. He threw his arms around them both and started walking them into the heart of the party. 

Taako twitched under Magnus’s arm, trying and failing to bolt off elsewhere, anywhere, but Magnus had him fast. Similarly, Lucretia cleared her throat and started to speak: “Magnus dear, must we….”

“C’mon, gotta go say hi to your guests, hon. Can’t hide out in the corner at your own party.”

“I’m not  _ hiding _ , Magnus Burnsides.”

At that, Taako laughed, which made Magnus laugh as well.

“You can’t possibly expect him to believe that,” said Taako. “Now that we know who you are, Madame, there’s no getting away with anything ever again.”

She sighed in as dignified a manner as she could manage, but Magnus just squeezed her tighter, and kept walking the two of them to the big couch.

Killian and Lup were arm wrestling, while Carey made faces at Lup to try to throw her off balance. Mavis had her nose in a very large book, as did Angus, although he looked up with eyes full of hope as the three of them approached.

“Ma’am, Mr. Taako, Dad! Thank you so much for all the gifts!”

Killian looked up for a half a beat, which gave Lup the tiny edge she needed to throw Killian’s arm down on the table. Lup jumped up and ran a tiny victory lap around the boys’ old common room, laughing all the while.

Magnus walked them all the way to the couch, sat down, and put his feet on the coffee table. Lucretia looked past him and gave Taako a hard look.

“Did he do that when you lived here?”

“Maggie, lift your feet.” Taako pointed at the edge of the table. “See all those scratches?”

She frowned at Magnus. “I can't believe you're so bad at taking care of your furniture.”

He shrugged, smiling. “Could always sand it out.”

“You’re not going to, though,” said Taako.

Magnus could see Lucretia shifting in her seat, getting ready to slip out to the edges of the party again. He fixed her with a long stare, albeit with a smile.

“So. The kids were asking….” He looked at Angus and Mavis, trying to encourage them to come closer. They gave him equally baffled owlish expressions. He cleared his throat, but as he was preparing to try again, Mookie launched himself at Magnus.

“What was pop-pop like when he was a spaceman?!” he crowed.

“Oh,” whispered Mavis, blinking, her gaze flickering between the three on the couch. “Yeah,” she said at a more normal tone, “we got the broadcast and all that, but what was it really like, Aunt Lucretia?”

She and Taako exchanged a look: she raised an eyebrow, he rolled his eyes.

“How ‘bout I tell ‘em that thing with the plants that one time?” Taako said in a tone with an edge of laughter in it.

Magnus turned beet red; this was not the sort of story he had been hoping for. “No no no, not that, nope.”

“Alright, the yoga class?”

Lucretia laughed. “You remember how Davenport started just….”

“Never heard him scream like that, before or since. And then ol’ Maggie here, trying to….”

She snorted.

“Hey, at least I was  _ trying _ ,” he said.

“Pops taught  _ yoga _ ?” asked Mavis. She looked towards the drinks table, where Merle was refilling his punch. “Did you really teach yoga?”

Merle turned and grinned.

“Sure did, Mavey honey. Now that I’ve got it back, maybe I can teach you kids. Good for the ol’ flexibility, keeps you real young.”

She blanched and shook her head.

“You wanna learn some yoga, Mookie?” he asked, undisturbed. 

“Will I be able to stand on my head?!”

Taako snorted and Lucretia hid a smile with her hand.

“Here, I’ll get you up on your head,” said Magnus, standing up and dangling Mookie by his ankles. Mookie laughed uproariously as Mavis sighed.

//

Lucretia looked over at the cluster of chairs by the Candlenights shrub where Barry was sitting alone, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, holding a bottle of beer. Lup kept saying that she should try talking to Barry. Then again, Lup was always optimistic about the family. Hell, Lup thought Taako would’ve forgiven her by now. A year and a half, and they’d only exchanged a few pleasantries, her and Barry. He’d given her hard looks but he never said anything. 

She sat in the chair next to him and ever so slightly cleared her throat. His eyes flickered to her, then he sat upright and took a swig of his beer.

“Happy Candlenights, Lucretia,” he said.

“Thanks for coming up here,” she said.

“It’s, uh, it’s kinda nice to be invited,” he said. “Wish I could’ve stayed for the party, you know, uh, before?” 

She frowned for a moment before remembering: “How did you get those badges under the tree?”

“It’s complicated? And I didn’t realize you knew about that.”

“Merle told me, eventually.”

After an awkward pause, Barry blurted, “I’m sorry.”

“ _ You’re _ sorry?”

“Uhhhh, whatever it was, that, um, you know.” He coughed. It was a familiar nervous tic, even after a decade and more apart. “Something that made you that, uh, made it so that, um, that we couldn’t talk?”

“No, that's on me,” she said. “I certainly could have been more straightforward and said something.” She looked down at her hands. The sight of them, older all at once as they'd become in Wonderland, was still startling. “After Lup left….” She didn't know what to say from there. “Something happened, in me, I think.”

“Yeah, Lup…. Um, we've talked about that some. She, uh, and then me and Taako, we…well, I guess we were preoccupied?”

She chuckled. 

“I'm sorry, though. We could have worked this out better. You know, you unnerved the guys quite a bit with all your shenanigans.”

“ _ Are you afraid? _ ” he said, mimicking his lich voice, poorly. 

She laughed, an open genuine laugh. 

“Barry, hon, what the hell was up with that?”

He sighed. 

“I didn't know what you were  _ doing _ , Lucretia, I couldn't even figure it out. And I wanted to jolt them out of that weird, I dunno, I guess it looked like carelessness? They, I mean, wow, Luce. They just did not give two shits. Do you know how many times Magnus tried to cut me? With an axe? While I was a lich? Jeez.” He shook his head. 

“We are talking about Magnus though. Right?”

“Sure, but, uh, Lucretia, that was…. A lot.”

“Tell me about  _ a lot _ , Barold J. Bluejeans,” she replied. 

“Fair. I guess, yeah. Fair.”

They sat side by side in silence for a while; all the stories she'd heard about Barry's time as a lich haunting the boys ran through her head. 

“Thank you,” she said, finally. 

“For?”

“Watching out for them.”

He shrugged. 

“Family, you know. Plus, uh….” He trailed off for a moment, looking out into the room. “You know, Lup, uh, Lup would've kicked my ass. That's what I had to, I had to remind myself.”

She sighed. 

“You saw the umbrastaff, right?”

He closed his eyes. 

“Creezy, Creesh, that was awful, y’know: listening to Taako talk about how he got it?”

She paused for a sip of eggnog. 

“Did you ever think….”

Another swig of beer, then he shook his head. 

“Nope. Not for a second.”

She let out the breath she'd been holding. 

“Okay. I wondered. I never considered it either. It would have been too preposterous, really.”

He chuckled. 

“Yeah, Lup trapping herself like that, it just….” Again he looked into the room, across to where Lup was leaning in a doorway, also just watching. “Live and learn, I guess.” Another chuckle. 

“I miss…. I mean, I'm sorry.”

“Yeah. Well, yeah. Turned out okay, right?” He was still looking at Lup, and he smiled. 

//

“Hey there Lucy-lu, you work things out with my man Barold?” Lup slipped an arm around Lucretia's waist. 

“Mmm. Something like that.”

“Told ya it was gonna be fine. Not everybody holds a grudge like some elves we know.”

Lucretia chuckled. 

“Saw you two being civil, by the way,” Lup continued. “That's nice.”

“I suppose civil is a word for it.”

Lup gave her a little squeeze.

“Seriously, I think he’s doing better. I’m proud of you both.”

“You know we didn’t really work anything out, right?”

“Mm-hm. I know.” She smiled, then glanced up. “Guess what?”

Lucretia raised an eyebrow. Lup gave a little tip of her chin up above them.

“Mistletoe,” said Lup.

“Hmm.”

“Kiss on the cheek, at least.”

Lucretia leaned over and placed her lips on Lup’s cheek, as lightly as she could. Lup just smiled.

//

Taako was out of the room to get his coat (and hat and gloves and scarves) while Kravitz waited patiently by the front door of the dorm. While no one was near him, Lucretia walked up, her brow slightly furrowed. She held out a small wrapped package.

“I wanted you to have this, but I imagine he might not take it very well?”

He looked at the neat paper with its smattering of glitter snowflakes.

“Am I going to regret accepting this?” he asked.

“I don’t believe so.” She paused and searched his face, his calmly impassive expression. All this time, and she had absolutely no idea what he thought of her. She straightened her spine. “Actually, I think you’ll enjoy this.”

He took the gift out of her hands; they both glanced at the other room, and he slid a finger under the seam in the paper, swiftly removing the wrappings.

A silver picture frame, plain and sleek. Inside, a small painting, a watercolor: Taako was smiling, perhaps in the middle of speaking? And he’s wearing something that she’s just captured the feeling of, it must have sparkled in person. Perhaps sequins. He’s gorgeous, and also it’s a Taako he didn’t quite recognize: this is what Taako was like before, he realizes again. She was trying to give him a gift of  _ that _ .

He made a sharp intake of breath and looked at her with those unearthly red eyes.

“This is beautiful, thank you.”

She manages a half-smile.

“I found it while I was —” she waves a hand aimlessly, “and I thought you might…. It seemed like something you should have.”

He nodded, and then startled her by summoning his scythe and cutting just the tiniest portal. Through it she could see a stark stone room, bare but for a desk and chair. He reached inside and set the painting on his desk. The portal snapped shut just as the tapping of Taako’s heels approached. She snatched the wrapping paper from his hands and turned without a word, balling it up and hiding the paper in her hand, behind her back.

“What was that about, my man? Lucy giving you the third degree?”

Kravitz hummed. “She just thanked us for coming to the party.”

Taako scoffed.

“Well we sure as fuck don’t do it for her. Do it for the rest of the fam, if anything. Or, you know, for the gifts.”

//

The guests had gone home, for the most part: Merle decided to stay, since Mookie was already nearly asleep. He and Mavis were pulling out the sofa-beds.

Magnus came over to where Lucretia sat looking down through the window in the floor.

“I can’t believe you put a window that looks out that way,” he said.

“I can’t believe you didn’t like it,” she said. “I mean, this view?” She waved her hands at the tiny world below. He turned his head, miming at throwing up. She rolled her eyes. “You don’t appreciate my architectural design, I get it.”

He laughed. “You know I love the domes, hon. This window just freaks me out.”

Then they both heard the sound of raised voices from the kitchen; they looked at each other and Lucretia raised an eyebrow. She stood and swiftly crossed the common room until she stood in the kitchen entrance. Carey and Killian, a sink full of dishes behind them, were glaring at each other.

“What are you two even still doing here?” Lucretia asked.

Killian turned to her, a bit abashed.

“Sorry ma’am, we were just trying to help out and then we got, uh….”

Carey broke in: “Boss, Fantasy Die Hard—”

Lucretia grinned. “One of my favorite Candlenights scrolls!”

Both Killian and Magnus fixed her with equally horrified stares.

“How can you say—”

“I mean it just—”

She looked at Carey and smiled. “Don’t you think?” she asked.

Carey nodded, her frill expanding just a smidgen. “It’s a perfect Candlenights scroll! I watch it every year.”

“The second one is good for the holidays too, but they kinda —”

“They deffo go downhill after that.”

Magnus cleared his throat dramatically. “I can’t believe you’re both so entirely wrong. Being  _ set _ at Candlenights doesn’t make it a Candlenights scroll. Carey, I’m ashamed to think I thought you were my rogue mentor…. Even Taako knows Fantasy Die Hard isn’t a Candlenights scroll.”

She rolled her eyes.

“He’s right, Care,” said Killian.

“Nope, boss says it’s a Candlenights scroll, it’s a Candlenights scroll, end of story.” She leaned over and kissed Killian on the cheek, then went back to scrubbing the punch bowl.

“Agree to disagree?” said Magnus.

She hummed thoughtfully. "In the true spirit of Candlenights I will look past this disagreement in the name of peace and love.”

“And in the spirit of Taako Taaco, I will hold it close and never forget that you’re wrong." A shadow of a frown crossed her face. “Just kidding, we’ll just agree to disagree. Candlenights spirit.”

She sighed and watched Carey and Killian continue with the dishes, still good-naturedly sniping at each other.

“Yes, the Candlenights spirit.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the WDA, as usual, this time for actually having the Die Hard Christmas argument, twice, and for establishing who is on which side of that important artistic debate. (Well, Travis McElroy established Magnus' position.) The lines from Lucretia and Magnus at the end are almost word-for-word from that. Bless you, @hops.
> 
> Hope all y'all have had an excellent Candlenights season.


End file.
